


Late Night Conversation

by Cross_Light



Category: Mortal Kombat (Video Games), Mortal Kombat - All Media Types
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fate & Destiny, Fear of Death, Gen, Headcanon, Late Night Conversations, Nightmares, Other, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, Post-MK11, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-29 21:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cross_Light/pseuds/Cross_Light
Summary: (Canon MK11 secret ending) With the sacrifice of their abilities, is being powerless worth it?





	Late Night Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing except these concepts and Karen.

Within a house isolated in the rebuilding eras of Earthrealm, little to no sound was present tonight. Usually, spring days resulted in a more bustling activity. Institutes for learning would soon close for the next season, and students were looking forward to summer vacation. Families and friends would be together outdoors more often. Tonight was calm, many having retired to their beds for the eve.  
  
The room was comfortably lit with starlight while Raiden and Karen slept together on the single bed. Following a tearful reunion between the two after Karen Barrett's sacrifice and rebirth, she offered to pay him visits to his place so that the newfound mortal would not feel lonely. In truth, Karen retained some memories of the past timeline. The offer was made to alleviate her unease from events before the timeline reset.  
  
Such was the case when Karen awoke with a gasp from a nightmare concerning said events, but with a different outcome. She saw herself offer her power to Kronika instead of the Hourglass in her dreams. With her full potential restored, the Titan killed Lord Liu Kang, taking Raiden along with him to death.  
  
The woman got a look at Raiden next to her, sleeping soundly on his back. Despite everything, she noted that he still looked like himself. Karen got a bit of a change in the newfound timeline. She decided to grow her black hair long enough to style it instead of leaving it short. It was most likely due to a change in her past. No one bullied her due to her abilities.  
  
All of this was too much to process, and she stood up slowly, being careful not to disturb her bed mate. Karen walked out of the room with some worry in her brown eyes, her blue nightgown over her body.

* * *

Outside of the house was the right spot for Raiden to think clearly, for Karen believed that the sounds of nature helped him calm down when he was troubled. She took a seat on the floorboards of the home and huddled up to her knees.  
  
A part of her wondered if sacrificing her power to the Hourglass was worth the rebirth. She derailed Kronika's plan with that move, but what would happen after this? The timeline reset itself following her death. Now she and Raiden were powerless mortals.  
  
"Karen Barrett?"  
  
The woman gasped and turned behind her to find Raiden, donning only trousers and a white shirt. His hair was disheveled like her own. He probably noticed that she woke up without his knowledge.  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to alarm you," she told him.  
  
"That was not what I was concerned about," he stated calmly.

The man approached her and sat down next to her cross-legged on the floor.  
  
"What happened?" Raiden questioned with concern.  
  
The woman just sighed. It was time to reveal why she had made the offer in the first place.  
  
"You know when I offered to visit you so that you wouldn't feel lonely?" she asked. "It was more like I needed company rather than you."  
  
She looked at him with visible weariness.  
  
"I felt uneasy when I started recalling memories of the past timeline," the woman explained. "I still remember our battle, the manipulation, and everything else. I didn't believe I could turn to anyone about this. People would dismiss me as crazy. When I kept silent about it, everyone was concerned. I tried faking a smile, saying that things were all right. I don't think they entirely believed it."  
  
Raiden knew that despite her outward boldness, Karen was a woman who masked her emotional scars.  
  
"Now that I think about it, was exchanging our powers for this life worth it?" she questioned. "The timelines need to rebuild, but we're powerless now. Our peace will come under threat again, and we won't be able to do anything to stop it."  
  
She looked down out of fear and sorrow.  
  
"One or both of us could die," she finished. "It...scares me just thinking about it."  
  
"The best we can do is aid those willing to stop those evils," Raiden reasoned, getting her attention. "Even without our potential, our small steps can give way to something greater."  
  
That was when Karen realized that Raiden had been advising Lord Liu Kang should the situation call for it.  
  
"You've been helping the new God, haven't you?"  
  
"I have been advising him for as long as my mortality permits it, Karen. I believe you can do the same with your gift from the Hourglass."  
  
"Will you take me to see him one day?"  
  
"That is a promise, Karen Barrett."  
  
She smiled at that prospect. The duo looked up at the night sky during a moment of silence, the moon's light providing a serene glow about them.  
  
"I wonder if he's all right out there," Karen began. "He did bring us back together, after all."  
  
"I am certain that he is watching over us as we speak," Raiden predicted.

* * *

In the Keep at the beginning of time, Lord Liu Kang looked at the duo through the Hourglass's image of them and was happy at what he had seen transpire before him. It seemed that whatever they would go through, they would overcome them together even without their abilities.  
  
With a wave of a hand, the image vanished, and he turned his back to the artifact. There was still much to do on his end. Luckily, a hand garbed in blue took one of his own. He turned to his right to find Kitana by his side.  
  
"Are you ready?" the God asked her.  
  
"Yes," she confirmed. "But no matter how we sculpt the Sands, we cannot plan for every possibility. Mortals will make their own choices. New evils will arise."  
  
"Each realm must choose its destiny," Liu Kang reasoned.  
  
He took her hands into his own. In the light of the sun in outer space, they shared a tender moment with each other.  
  
"Whatever those choices, we will face them together," he finished.


End file.
